Graphic Design Principles For Beginners

[Octavis Uberstine]

Whenyou are Graphic Designers there are some design principles that you must know to create harmonious and good designs. These principles will help your designs to communicate clearly your ideas and how all the graphic elements of your design interact with each other.

Contrast is one of the most common Graphic Design Principles and every graphic designer must dominate it, contrast refers to the difference between the elements in your design, mean for example in a color that if you use a dark color in one element, the other graphic elements need to be in a light color to easily differentiate from the other.

Balance refers to how you put these elements on your design and avoid putting all your heavy elements in the same place. There are two types of balance, Symmetrical, which creates balance by aligning equally weighted elements, and asymmetrical design is the opposite, you align a heavy element with lighter ones to create a contrast effect.

Emphasis refers to the importance of the elements on your design, and what order they should have on it. What the emphasis principle says is that the most important information that you need to show in your design must be the first thing the people see in your project.

For example in a Movie poster design, the first thing you need to see is the Movie title, then it can be the name of the director and after the name of the actors and actresses, if you want to know which are the best Poster Design in Movies you can check my post about it and see how the emphasis work on this posters.

Repetition is a great tool to reinforce an idea you want to transmit through your design and it also helps to unify your project, you can use the repetition principle in different elements as color, typefaces, shapes, or other graphic design elements.

For example, if your design has multiple typefaces or colors it can be seen as a bad design and uncomfortable to watch due to the chaos, but we can avoid this by choosing two typefaces for example, and using them in all the design.

The proportion principle in graphic design is one of the easiest to understand, basically, proportion refers is the size of elements to one another in the design. Larger elements are easy to see in design than smaller ones and by this principle, larger elements are more important than smaller ones.

Hierarchy principle in Graphic Design stands out that the most important elements in your design also should appear to be the most important, this help people who will see your design understand better what is the important element on it.

The rhythm principle is easy to understand by using the music as an example when you are using repeating elements in your design this creates spaces between these elements, and this creates a visual rhythm as this happens in musical compositions. There are five types of visual rhythm: random, regular, alternating, flowing, and progressive.

White space is also known as negative space, and it refers to the area of a design that is empty and not include design elements. But white space is actually a really important design element, you need to give your design elements space to breathe and easily differentiate them from other elements.

White space is also used in Logo design to create hidden images on it and give more information about your brand and avoiding to saturate it, and if you are interested in know the 7 qualities of a good logo design you can check my post about it!

The movement principle in graphic design refers to how the human eye interacts with your design, and the most important element in your design must be the first thing people see, and after seeing it your design needs to lead the viewer to the next most important element.

The variety principle is used in design to create visual interest to the viewer and it can be created with different elements as color, typography, images, shapes, and many more. And by using the variety we avoid creating a monotonous design and lose the interest of the viewer.

Unity principle refers to how well all the elements used in your design project work together, they should have a clear relationship and communicate the same concepts, this will cause that your design looks more organized and every element on it will be related to each other.

As I mentioned in the introduction these 12 design principles must be known by every graphic designer, now you can implement these principles on your designs and practice them, this will help your graphic design projects look better and communicate easily your ideas.

The principles of design are the rules you must follow to create an effective and attractive design composition. The fundamental principles of design are: Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space.

Graphic design, like any discipline, adheres to strict rules that work beneath the surface to make the work stable and balanced. If the design is missing that balance, it will be weak and ineffective.

Learn more about the 7 basic principles of design by watching the video below or reading the rest of the article. Either way, knowing these principles and how to use them will make your next project stand out.

Symmetrical design creates balance through equally weighted elements aligned on either side of a center line. On the other hand, asymmetrical design uses opposite weights (like contrasting one large element with several smaller elements) to create a composition that is not even, but still has equilibrium.

If you plan to work with type, understanding contrast is incredibly essential because it means the weight and size of your type are balanced. How will your audience know what is most important if everything is in bold?

Repetition can be important beyond one printed product. Anyone thinking about a startup knows one of the first things you need is a strong logo to feature on your website, business cards, social media and more. Brand identity? Another term for repetition.

Even more exciting, it can communicate an entirely different image or idea from your main design that will reward your audience for engaging with it. The logo above uses active negative space to communicate multiple ideas in one fun, creative design.

The elements of a design should be viewed as moving parts that combine to tell a story. As you approach your design project you must first familiarize yourself with these principles of design. Only then will you be able to break these graphic design rules to create your own signature style.

When you think of graphic designers, what do you picture? Creative-looking, fashionable people with a tablet in one hand and a pen in the other? A lone professional using design software in a dark room? An artist?

Graphic designers work to communicate ideas in a visual format, guiding perception and informing their audience. Most graphic designers work on behalf of a client or company, creating designs to satisfy specific objectives. Graphic designers are also often considered artists.

Companies use the visual concepts of graphic design to promote and sell products through advertising, to convey complicated information in an easy-to-understand format (think of infographics), to develop a brand identity, and so much more.

Make a website or application easy and satisfying to use. These designers emphasize value, usability, adoptability and desirability. This type of work can be both highly-technical (programming each pathway through a site) and creative (considering every part of how users interact with your platform).

Visual communication in print can run the gamut from a gorgeous catalog that encourages readers to understand the plants they might purchase to a series of signs that guide travelers through a confusing airport terminal.

Graphic designers create visually appealing advertisements in almost every industry out there. Graphic designers working in healthcare might work on a commercial advertising the opening of a new clinic. A graphic designer working in manufacturing might create a brochure that explains their equipment to businesses considering a purchase.

With technological advancements introducing new types of graphic design, there has also been an emergence of new graphic design jobs. At the same time, the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) may leave you wondering if the career is in trouble.

Employment of graphic designers is projected to grow by 3 percent from 2022 to 2032, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).1 This growth rate is about as fast as the average for all occupations. The BLS projects about 22,800 openings for graphic designers each year, on average, over the decade.1

A graphic designer relies on many different tools. One of the most basic (and least expensive) tools designers use is a sketchbook. If you love studio art, you can certainly integrate those skills into your work as a graphic designer.

A graphic designer needs to be able to use design software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. Since the best graphic design software is computer-based, they also need to be comfortable using a computer (as opposed to a phone or tablet) to design.

But design elements are only part of the picture. A professional graphic designer does more than simply make designs. They have to manage their time, communicate with managers and clients, adjust to feedback and group collaboration and keep track of different projects.

As you can see, you need more than a good eye for color to work as a graphic designer. Technical skills, design principles and learning to use new kinds of software are all critical abilities for a graphic designer.

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Brianna is a senior content manager who writes student-focused articles for Rasmussen University. She holds an MFA in poetry and worked as an English Professor before diving into the world of online content.

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